Saturday, December 29, 2012

Marco D’Allesandro has a destiny he wants no part of—running his family’s
Italian olive oil empire. Against his family’s wishes, he moves to America to
pursue his dream of becoming a professional bull rider and is at the pinnacle
of his career, but his family wants him home. Things only get more complicated
when he meets Natalie Webster, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed angel who’s got
problems of her own.

Their
chemistry is explosive from the beginning, and both find themselves in a
situation they never thought they would—they’re falling in love. Natalie has had
a rough time of it lately, and it’s tempting to let naturally protective Marco
take care of her. Both in and out of bed. Marco discovers he relishes the role
and wants to keep Natalie close. Really close.

But
Natalie’s situation in life and Marco’s continued battle with his family
threaten to tear them apart. Neither of them was looking for forever, but might
have found their true destiny in each other.

Marco
D’Allesandro scrambled from the dirt and leapt onto the rail, grateful for the
bullfighters as they diverted the beast’s attention away from him. Once safely
atop, he turned toward the scoreboard. He was the last rider of the day and
needed an eighty-nine to win. He’d stayed on the full eight seconds, so his
chances were good. The bull he’d drawn was a tough one, which would help.

I
wish the judges would hurry up.

His
fellow rider and brother, Paolo, clapped him on the shoulder.

“Nice
ride, amico.”

“Thanks.”
Marco didn’t spare him a glance, his eyes glued to the scoreboard.

Come
on…

The
announcer finally spoke. “Folks, it looks as if the Italian Stallion had
another good night.” Marco’s face broke out in a grin as Paolo clapped him on
the shoulder again. “Marco D’Alessandro has scored a ninety even on The
Undertaker. Congratulations to our second-place finalist, Brady Parrish, and
third-place finalist, Randy Suzan.”

Marco
turned and swung his legs over the fence. He was about to drop to the other
side when a flash of purple caught his attention. He scanned the crowd and then
his world tilted on its axis. There, standing in the top-most row of the lower
bowl of the arena, was the most beautiful woman Marco had ever seen. That was
saying something, considering his Italian upbringing.

It was hard to tell how tall she was, but her lean curves were emphasized by a
tight pair of black jeans and that purple top that caught his attention
earlier. Dark-blonde straight hair streaked with lighter shades, most likely
from being out in the sun, fell to her waist. When she smiled at someone near
her his heart went into his throat. He had to know who she was.

He’d jumped from the railing and into the crowd before he even realized he was
chasing her, but he wasn’t about to let this one get away. Almost all the women
in Italy had dark eyes and hair and blondes fascinated him. People tried to
stop him to congratulate him on his win, but he kept his eyes on the woman as
she turned onto the stairs to get to the bottom of the section.

Luckily Marco was able to reach a point where he could intercept her as she
exited the area and waited, his breath coming in short pants as if he’d run a
marathon. When she got close she looked up, and her light-blue eyes widened as
she took him in. She kept walking and he tracked her with his gaze. She reached
the bottom and he put a hand on the sleeve of her Western-style shirt.

“May I speak with you?” His padre had taught him to be respectful of women, and
though there were few decent things Marco had learned from his overbearing
father, who was currently pushing hard for Marco to return to Italy to run the
family business, that lesson had stuck. Her eyebrows, with hair so light they
were nearly invisible, drew down, but she agreed and allowed him to steer her a
little to the side, away from the exiting crowd. “My name is Marco
D’Alessandro. I would like to know your name as well.”

“Um, sure. My name is Natalie. Natalie Webster.”

He realized he was still holding on to her sleeve when she glanced down, and he
quickly removed his hand, offering it for her to shake. Natalie took it and a
jolt of something rushed straight up his arm as their hands touched.

“Will you allow me to buy you dinner?”

“Dinner?”

“Yes. I just won this event and I want to celebrate with a beautiful woman.”

Whereas a line like that would’ve worked on many Italian women and most of the
buckle bunnies he normally encountered on tour, Natalie shook her head. “Look,
I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m not here hoping to find a
boyfriend.”

Boyfriend? I only asked her to dinner.

“That is good, because I am not in search of a girlfriend.”

“I’m also not interested in a one-night stand, so if that’s what you’re after—”

“I am sorry, did I offend you?”

Natalie sighed and Marco watched as she chewed on her lip for a minute. He
could think of far better ways to make her mouth look abused, but figured given
her recent statements she wouldn’t handle his flirting well, so he stayed
quiet.

“You didn’t offend me. I’m here to work.”

“You work for the tour?”

“No.”

“A reporter?”

“No. I’m following the tour for a couple of weeks. I’m interested in learning
about bull riding so I can try out for the female tour. It’s just, I don’t want
to give you the wrong impression. I’m here to watch, listen and learn.”

“Then have dinner with me. You can quiz me.” When she looked doubtful he added,
“I will be a perfect gentlemen.” He turned the full force of the smile his
parents had spent a fortune in dental work on and her eyes softened.

That’s what I wanted.

“All right. But just dinner.”

“Just dinner,” he agreed. For now. “Wait here. I will go get my check and my
gear and come to collect you within twenty minutes.”

She looked a little stunned but agreed to wait. Marco knew girls in America
weren’t used to having the man take the lead, but he didn’t know any other way
to behave. After rushing to collect his winnings, he made his way as quickly as
possible back to the riders’ area, taking off the protective vest he was still
wearing as he walked.

He exchanged high-fives with a couple of the guys before grabbing his rope and
winding it around his arm and shoulder. Turning to Paolo, he said, “I’ve got
dinner plans. I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”

“Dinner plans, eh? With the hot blonde I saw you talking to?” His brother
smirked, knowing Marco couldn’t resist blondes, and Marco nodded. There was no
reason to hide it.

“Yes. She wants to become a bull rider and I told her I would give her a few
tips.”

“Tips. Right.” His brother grinned then and Marco returned the smile. If he had
anything to say about it those tips would be given in bed after he’d wrenched a
couple of orgasms out of his beautiful Natalie and had one or two himself. His
cock was totally behind that decision and hardened inside his jeans. Natalie
had made it clear she only wanted dinner, and if that’s how she wanted to play
it, fine. He could be a patient man when it was called for, and she looked to
be worth his trouble.

Glancing
at his Rolex, he whistled. “Got to go. Later, amico.” Before he could get
stopped by any of the other riders, he packed up the last of his gear and threw
the duffle over his shoulder. Making his way back to the seating area, he
planned out what he would say. Natalie had mentioned she would be following
them around for a while. That was plenty of time to convince her to take a ride
on the Italian Stallion. The hunt was on.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Heather Long takes readers on a ride into her Always a Marine series. I'm ready to saddle up.

The Marine
Cowboy was inspired by the desire of my readers to have a Marine and a cowboy, but—historically
speaking—Marine cowboys have defended our country for generations. I want to
share a story with you about a man named Fraser West.

From a young
age, West worked as a cowhand. In 1936, he passed up an appointment to attend
West Point. He preferred to work with the land and his horses. But when war
loomed over the United States, West attended Marine Office Candidates School
following his graduation from University. Unfortunately, his service was
delayed after a skiing accident delayed his officer training and in 1941, he
graduated with a regular commission to the 5th Reserve Officer’s
Class.

West served in
the South Pacific, by his mid-twenties this cowboy was a veteran of the battle at
Guadalcanal. He rotated stateside and received a promotion to Captain. He soon
joined to the 3rd Marine Division and returned to the battlefield
with “George” company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment
and participated in the Bougainville campaign, a long and dedicated Allied
effort to reclaim the island from Japanese occupation.

As George
company’s commanding officer, he earned a Silver Star for his heroism and spent
several months in a hospital recovering from a bullet that shattered his left
leg. He returned to duty in 1944 and directed tank gunfire. West returned home after the war and back to
his beloved ranching. In 2003, the veteran suffered another injury when his roping
horse collapsed from a heart attack and pinned him. Despite breaking his back,
the resilient Marine recovered and returned with his unit to the island of Guam
in 2004 to cut the ribbon on the newly named Marine Corps drive.

In an interview
posted on the military.com
website, West said, “The Corps
teaches you a 'can-do' attitude. All you've got to do is keep moving. Never
retire, keep volunteering, and keep looking forward in life."

While A.J.
Turner wasn’t based on Fraser West, he could have been. Ooh-rah, Marine!

Keep up with
Heather! And be sure to drop by the Always a Marine
series page today, Heather will be chatting with readers and answering
questions!

Turning down a billet at Mike's Place
in Dallas, Sergeant A.J. Turner left Iraq for Freewill, Wyoming with one goal
in mind—to forget the last five years. Trading his MARPATS for jeans and his
cover for a cowboy hat, he plans to work his ranch and pray the green grass,
tall trees, and sweet mountains can wash away the taste of the desert.

The last thing he expected was a
reminder of a promise made to his buddies: one night to help them all start
again.

Sheri Vaughn quit her corporate job,
sold her house and moved to Freewill on a whim. Six months after her divorce,
she's hardly ready to put her toe in the dating waters again. One bottle of
wine later, however, she signs up for Madame Eve's exclusive 1Night Stand
service and lists a very particular set of qualities she wants in a man; he
must be honorable, courageous, forthright, single, have served as Marine, but be
a cowboy at heart. If she wants to dream, at least she can dream big.

But when local hero A.J. Turner arrives
home, Madame Eve comes through, and Sheri has to find the courage to make her
dream a reality…

Can one night, even a night arranged by
Madame Eve, fulfill both a promise and a dream?

Thursday, December 27, 2012

If you think writers might not live what they write about, you've never meet Angela Quarles. I think I'm in Geek Girl Lust.

Hi Louisa, thank you for having me on here. I thought I'd share a little of my personal experience with some of the geek references I make in my new release BEER AND GROPING IN LAS VEGAS, an erotic geek romance.

Most of it takes place in the hotel room (boom-chika-bow-wow), but the hotel is hosting a sci-fi convention and so the hero and heroine run across some fun convention goers in the beginning of the story.

Mirjam rubbed
the tiredness from her eyes, but the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland still
occupied the Rivenbark Hotel & Casino elevator with her. She blinked and
squinted. Yep. And life-size. Complete with hookah.

Plastic
squeaked against glass as the caterpillar shifted to make more room. It made
eye contact.

"Er,
nice costume," Mirjam ventured.

"Thanks,"
came the muffled reply.

The elevator
swooped to a stop on the mezzanine level. A pirate and a Ghostbuster stepped on
and pushed the lobby button. Mirjam angled back to avoid being knocked over by
the guy's Proton Pack.

"Convention?"
Mirjam asked the caterpillar and it rewarded her with a nod.

Mirjam
groaned inwardly. She'd attended her share, but now, they reminded her too much
of The Turd, otherwise known as Brian. Great.

I've been a regular attendee of Dragon*Con since 2005 and so I drew on my experiences to paint the background for the story. This particular opening was inspired by a costume I vividly remember—the caterpillar. In my case, the 'caterpillar' was standing outside an elevator. It really is incredible the amount of detail that some of the conference goers put in their costumes. I thought using this as the opening helped setup the 'down the rabbit hole' feeling I wanted to convey. What's Dragon*Con you ask? It's a sci-fi/fantasy/pop culture convention that draws over 50,000 attendees every year in Atlanta, and it's a blast.
I thought I'd share another snippet inspired by a real attendee at Dragon*Con-- the guy who dresses as Monty Python's King Arthur every year, and yes, he has his trusty squire following banging two coconuts. My picture of him is fuzzy, but I found this one, and here's another snippet:

"Welcome
to the Rivenbark," the older man behind the desk said. "Do you have a
reservation?"

Riley
scrubbed his hand through his hair while the concierge called someone on the phone.

A guy passed
by, dressed as the king in Monty Python's Holy Grail, complete with his
sidekick beating two coconuts together. Riley grinned. Looked like the
convention here would be shit-tons more entertaining than his.

I think you really need to attend one to really appreciate it. Generally, I don't dress up, I just where my Firefly t-shirts, but there was one year (2007) where two friends and I went as the Fruity Oaty Bar girls from Serenity and that was a strange experience:

I love attending Dragon*Con. We have different names for it--Nerdi Gras, Geek Prom--but whatever we call it, it's five days of drinking and getting your geek on, and being around tons of others who share similar interests.
It's not all just costumes on parade though. You can go to celebrity panels and hear your favorite stars talk about their roles in your fave TV show or movie. There's also a really good writer's track, as well as different tracks ranging from puppet making to robot wars to the latest in space technology. It's also probably the only convention that has conference rooms booked through the whole night, so even at three in the morning, you can find something going on. Sleep is definitely not indulged in often during that weekend.
Here are some fave photos from over the years:

If you look closely, that's Jason Momoa playing with a light sabre out in front of the Hyatt Regency

Riley
McGregor is a geek trapped in a Good Ole Boy body and as owner of a
microbrewery, smart chicks never look at him twice.

Rejected
by a geek who wanted to “trade up,” Mirjam Linna would rather immerse herself
in work than be the girlfriend-of-the-moment. Stranded in a Vegas hotel, she
makes a wish—a night of hot sex with the man of her dreams. It's granted. She
agrees to dinner, but afterward, she’ll say thanks, but no thanks, and see
what’s on the SyFy channel. But when they meet, they're surprised to find they
had a shared connection in their past. Sparks fly as these two learn to be in
the moment, be themselves and find love.

Angela
works at an independent bookstore and lives in an historic house in the
beautiful and quirky town of Mobile, AL, with her two matched gray cats, Darcy
and Bingley. When she's not writing, she enjoys the usual stuff like gardening,
reading, hanging out, eating, drinking, chasing squirrels out of the walls and
creating the occasional knitted scarf. She's had a varied career, including
website programming and directing a small local history museum.

She's
an admitted geek and is proud to be among the few but mighty Browncoats who
watched Firefly the first night it aired. She was introduced to the
wonderful world of science fiction by her father, by way of watching reruns of
the original Star Trek in her tweens and later giving her a copy of
Walter M. Miller Jr's A Canticle for Leibowitz as a teenager. She hasn't
looked back since.

She
has a B.A. in Anthropology and International Studies with a minor in German
from Emory University, and a Masters in Heritage Preservation from Georgia
State University. She was an exchange student to Finland in high school and
studied abroad in Vienna one summer in college. She recently found
representation with Maura Kye-Casella at Don Congdon, Assoc.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Can I spread a
little bit of “blah” all over your humbug? I promise, I actually enjoy the
season, but sometimes all the fa-la-la-ing gets in my nerves. What irks the
nerves the most?

5) People who
start shopping in June and rub it in – “Have you started Christmas shopping
yet?” they ask smugly? Umm, no. And, if I did, and hid the gift, then I
probably wouldn’t find it until March.

4) Stores that
stock the shelves before Halloween – My favorite holiday is Halloween. Dressing
up, the festivals, Disneyland in SoCal. This year, we dressed on at least four
occasions, not including the night of trick-or-treating itself. When the red
and greens starts bleeding into the orange and black, something’s wrong!

3) Holiday cards
on Dec. 1 – Yes, I know, it’s the season. And, if you send yours out right
away, that means you’ll get even more back. (Maybe that’s why our stash is
dwindling.) I mean well every year. I buy my cards, and bring them with me
during our Thanksgiving weekend at the in-law’s mountain cabin but they never
seem to finish themselves.

2) Forced Cheer
– Notice that some people get nicer closer to the holidays? It’s about the same
time those little tip envelopes start showing up in the mailbox, in the
newspaper. You know, they have all year but they better make it shine now. (BTW
– we always tip.)

1) Perfectly
Wrapped Presents, & The Watchful Eye – At one point, I had more time to
fold and crease the metallic paper. Now I have young children who’d like to
help wrap, and less time to do it in. The good news is they’re getting old
enough to do it themselves! The watchful eye comes from my mom – who I love
immensely, especially if she’s reading this list – who watches to make sure the
person appreciates every ribbon and curl, and then often takes them back for
the following year! Bonus: Dog hair stuck to the tape. Oh, now that’s a joy!

I’m happy to report that as of Sunday,
Dec. 23, all my presents are purchased, but not wrapped, and today we’ll be
baking cookies. It’s just about time to get this holiday on!